Ben Fausch

Joe Smith

Bio coming soon…

John Pirillo

Recognized for his “versatile, intuitive musicianship” and “prescient analysis,” Ryan Sargent is equally at home as a trombonist, educator, and scholar.

Ryan’s trombone playing developed under the tutelage of Cathy Cole and Ron Wilkins before he attended Baylor University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in trombone performance and studied with Brent Phillips and Alex Parker. He did graduate work in both jazz performance and musicology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, studying trombone with Allen Hermann, composition with Art Lande, semiotics and music theory with Steven Bruns and Keith Waters, and American music history with Thomas Riis.

As an in-demand session and freelance player, Ryan regularly performs across Colorado with ensembles of all shapes and sizes and delights in adapting to new repertoire and styles on each gig. He cofounded the funk cover band Honeycomb, has backed up Miami salsa legend Tony Vega, performed with brass quintets across the state, and plays small and large format jazz with some of Denver’s finest musicians.

Ryan’s passion for music education led to a board position as Vice President of the national non-profit organization Technology In Music Education from 2017-2020. He has presented multiple sessions at the Midwest Clinic, TMEA, The NAMM Show, the International Music Education Summit and more than a dozen other music educator conferences across the country from Colorado to Ohio. He has coached low brass students to Texas All-State band honors as well as given clinics and masterclasses for student jazz ensembles up and down the Front Range.

As a scholar, Ryan has held adjunct faculty positions at both CU Boulder and Metro State (Denver), where he helped redevelop the curricula and syllabi for teaching history of jazz, rock, pop, and hip hop. His peer-reviewed research has been presented at the American Musicological Society and the inaugural Billy Joel Conference.

A Colorado resident for nearly 20 years, Ryan was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in Seattle, Washington and San Antonio, Texas.

Spanning over 20 years across a wide range of musical styles, groups, and audiences, Ben has delighted many with his unique approach to the instrument. Originally from Fort Collins, CO, where he studied from a young age under Bob Brewer, Ben earned a Bachelor's in Music Performance in 2008, studying under Carson McTeer and Michael Dunn.

Since 2005, Ben has performed extensively throughout the Colorado music scene. He served as arranger and tubist for the cosmopolitan vaudeville group Ukulele Loki's Gadabout Orchestra, where he shared the stage with Devotchka, Gogol Bordello, The Dresden Dolls, and the Yard Dogs Roadshow until 2009. From 2010 to 2022, he played with the Gora Gora Orkestar as tubist and arranger, performing at events such as TedX MileHi, activist events with the FloBots, numerous Balkan and Klezmer gatherings, the True/False Film Fest, and HONK festivals in Boston, Austin, Seattle, and NYC. He also shared the stage with many renowned artists, including Nathaniel Rateliff, Ozomatli, and Amanda Palmer. Between 2019 and 2022, he led the underground hip-hop group Brass&Gold Society, a band featuring many prominent figures in the Denver jazz and hip-hop scenes.

In addition to his long-term commitments, Ben has performed with a variety of groups over the years, including the Colorado Symphony Brass Quintet, Colorado Wind Ensemble, Colorado College Summer Arts Festival Orchestra, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, Longmont Symphony, Hungry March Band, Mile High Brass Band, Guerrilla Fanfare, Badda Boom Brass Band, Jim Stranahan's Little Big Band, and the Otone Brass Band.

Amanda Hernandez

Bio coming soon….

Ryan Sargent

Joe Smith is an award-winning Denver-based trumpeter, bandleader, and educator whose career bridges the worlds of classical and jazz. Introduced to music through piano and then trumpet, Joe honed his craft in the drum and bugle corps arena with the Colts and Santa Clara Vanguard. Mentored by jazz mentors Brad Goode, Jeff Barnhart, Dan Barrett, and Hal Smith, as well as classical pedagogues Dr. Amy Schendel, Phil Hembree, and Andy Classen, he holds a BA in Music from the University of Iowa and thrives as a versatile, genre-defying artist.

On the classical stage, Joe performs with the Zephyr Brass Collective, a Denver-based quintet reimagining contemporary chamber music, and the Colorado Brass, a British-style brass band. He is a current member of the Loveland Orchestra and has previously played with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra. His leadership of the Colorado Brass Quintet has earned consecutive first-place finishes at the 2024 and 2025 NABBA Championships Small Ensemble Division. As a soloist Joe finished 3rd in the technical Flugelhorn/Tenor Horn Category at the 2025 NABBA Championships solo competition.

On the jazz stage, Joe is well known for his ability to cover a wide range of musical styles, in particular, traditional jazz, swing, and early jump blues. Joe has led all-star big bands at festivals across the country. Joe has performed with Bria Skonberg, Bobby Floyd, Danny Coots, Brad Goode, Josh Collazo, David L. Harris, Jeff Barnhart, Mark Lopeman, Aaron Johnson, Josh Duffee, Jason Jurzak, Charlie Halloran, Miss Tammy Savoy, Kevin Smith, Louis Heriveaux, Louis Colaiannia, and more.

In 2013 Joe formed The Spicy Pickles, a jazz and funk group pulling inspiration from Count Basie to James Brown and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. The Spicy Pickles have recorded six full length albums, and multiple EP’s, with their original music featured in commercials around the world for UPS, LeoVegas, and Visit Seattle, and in the feature length film The Killing of a Sacred Deer, directed by Yargos Lanthimos. Touring coast to coast for over a decade the band has performed in over 35 states with performances on the main stage at the Telluride Jazz Festival, Sun Valley Jazz Festival, Redwood Coast Music Festival, Vail Jazz Festival, Elkhart Jazz Fest, San Diego Jazz Festival, Bohemian Nights, and others. In 2014 The Spicy Pickles’ music video “Movin’ Groovy” won the Seattle Jazz Dance Film Festival.

A dedicated educator, Joe has presented clinics and lectures at the University of Colorado Denver, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Iowa, Evergreen Jazz Festival, and Redwood Coast Music Festival, while also creating educational content for BAC Music Instruments. His producing and music direction work includes a five-year tenure as Music Director for the Denver Jazz Festival and advisory roles with the Evergreen Jazz Festival.

Joe is a proud performing artist for BAC Custom Trumpets and Denis Wick Mouthpieces and Mutes. Beyond music, he enjoys motorcycle adventures across Colorado, cooking for friends, and life with his two sighthounds, Lord Gherkin and Butter.